The Hollow City

After returning from the Wey house, the adventurers set off almost immediately to clear a path to the docks. Crius warns them that the Bandit leader carries an ornate necklace which he is famous for. Crius suggests relinquishing him of this bauble could hurt his reputation and help scatter the bandits. He also requests the adventurers deliver a cart of goods to the docks to help form a friendship with them. Stopping for the night in the warehouse district, they are greeted by Rabbit, and a present-a satchel with some healing potions in it. Rabbit also warns him of some monsters encountered along the road. Apparently green hulking humanoids reputedly searching for a lost item belonging to their master. After a nights rest, they set off again towards the docks.

Around mid day Theon accidently triggers a bear trap. Moments after setting the trap the party is assaulted by bandits. Theon struggles to remove the trap while Hafekk covers him. After a minute or so of fighting bandit archers and skirmishers, the wagon is beset by bullywugs-humanoid frog-men from the Sunken Wastes. Galad fights them toe to toe while the rest of the party continues the bandit fight.

A roar echoes through the ruins as the bandit leader, a stout dwarf charges into the fray, reigning blow after blow. His wild attacks separate the group temporarily and he gives chase to Theon. Theon circles the ruins leading him back to Galad who is fighting bandits and bullywugs alike. Fortunately for Galad bullywugs cannot discern between them and bandits, and attack both. Galad uses this opportunity to intercept the bandit leader, using the help of his friends to finish him off.

The bandits scatter as Theon scoops up the bloody necklace. The victory is short lived as a large, armored bullywug scales the side of the cliffs shouting commands to his bodyguards. With great alacrity Theon realizes the necklace belongs to the bullywug chieftain. He attempts to offer it to the chieftain who misinterprets his body language as a gloat.

Theon fends of several blows from the chieftain and his guards as Coro intervenes, calming the chieftain using an obscure gesture of negotiation he learned years ago in his father’s library. Theon again attempts to return the chieftains necklace, this time successfully. The bullywugs retreat to the wastes, and leave the party to continue onward to their destination.

When they get to the docks, Dockmaster Agby Digas is overjoyed to have found allies. He accepts the gifts and throws an impromptu celebration at the battered in that serves as their mayor’s office. Coro asks Agby about sailing across the sea, to which the regrettable answer is all the ships have gone or sunk. However, Agby knows one old sailor who may be able to restore a boat for them. The next day the party sets off to meet Talfen Cuttlescar the hermit.

After a warm introduction by Agby, Talfen tells the party to get the boat repaired, he would need a few months time, a dozen assistants, and lumber. With that he laughs at the amount of gold it would require to do such a thing. After a quick discussion the party empties their coffers to pay laborers from the docks, and purchase materials from House Argil. Talfen is amazed, and almost moved to tears at the prospect of sailing the seas again. He quickly adds that to do this, they must allow him to travel with them, to keep up the boat of course. The party agrees, and begins their travel back to House Argil.

The Search for the Artifact Sword

Following vague hints from an old letter, our heroes went north seeking a part of an artifact sword that promised great value. Upon reaching the edge of town Theon keenly spotted a gang of savage people that immediately attacked him on sight. With his trusted comrades nearby they quickly beat back the deranged wildmen.

After several more roving bands of wildmen accosted the party, were slain, and given last rites, they discovered a dead body slumped over a desk. It was in terrible condition, and took quite some time to reveal it was a mindflayer. Coro quickly filled the rest in on illithid’s treacherous existence after he recovered his composure. Under the body a diary was discovered. It detailed the illithid’s ascent to the surface and integration with the locals using some sort of psychic illusory effect to hide his identity.

Only later after finding respite would Coro learn the reasoning. It seemed this was a weaker illithid, and below he had a rough time gathering slaves from which to feed upon. After the collapse he used the opportunity to explore the surface, which he found irresistibly teeming with humanoids to feed upon. In his last entry the mindflayer details how his flock slowly went insane, gaining some sort of schizophrenic group identity. They attacked him en masse, leaving him mortally wounded and trapped inside his house.

The party continued onward toward the lumber yard, chosen for it’s nearness to the houses described in the letter. Unfortunately the area was regularly patrolled by goblins and the heroes had to fight their way through dozens of them. During one particularly chaotic scuffle, Hafekk charged their leader Grigbad and his nearby guards in a furious assualt leaving Grigbad severely wounded and two of his goblins dead. Grigbad roared for help and the half sized monsters swarmed to him. Hafekk was overwhelmed by the swarm and fell unconscious after several nasty blows. After turning his attention to the rest of the party Coro used the opportunity to mend Hafekk’s wounds and rouse him back to battle. After a short rest Hafekk returned to the fight to help his comrades finish the goblins.

Theon broke the party’s short rest to search the lumber mill for the blade of the artifact sword. Instead he found a young beleaguered eldarin child apparently captured by goblins. The boy claimed great reward for his return. Meanwhile the rest of the party found a hallowed portion of floor covered by a heavy crate. In the soft soil below rested the blade they were looking for.

Continuing their patrol the party was attacked by a wrathful bear who was quickly killed by their focused might. They discovered the area to be littered with a not so fortunate adventurers belongings. Amongst it a fabled bag of holding was found and claimed.

Theon carried home the Wey’s Ward Son, and was handsomely rewarded. The party was invited in to the Wey’s large manse. Within were a dozen children and several families living together. Coro played enchanting stories hoping to lighten their burdens while Theon performed feats of prestidigitation to amuse them. Galad’s teachings of the Raven Queen fell on distracted ears, and Hafekk watched contentedly from the corner. The party bid the Wey family good-bye and left for House Argil.

In the mess hall the younger recruits were enthralled with Coro’s retelling of the lumber mill battle. Excluding the mention of the sword he focused instead on the happy circumstance of rescuing young Elrohem Wey.

Crius promised the adventurers he would send some recruits from House Argil to the Wey home to perhaps move them to a safer local. Coro told Crius the party had decided to secure a route to the port, and on the way check up on Rabbit and the warehouses. The heroes took a few days of rest, gathered some supplies, and headed out at first light.

Crius pointed our heroes in the direction of the worrisome Warehouse District. On the way to their destination our heroes encountered an old woman who complained of the Warehouse District leader Andujar’s selfishness. When overheard telling the old woman of their investigation, a young half-elf named Leodar offers the party a fantastic gem if they kill Andujar.

Upon arriving at the warehouse the party witnesses an old dragonborn being turned away from the door. The heroes approach and she tells her tale of woe. Andujar is her grandson-in-law, and has an amulet of her deceased granddaughter. She gives the heroes 200 gold to purchase the amulet, and offers another 200 as a reward if they retrieve it.

The party then parlay’s an audience with Andujar. They skillfully convince Andujar of the wisdom of submitting to House Argil, but Andujar merely agrees to an alliance. They also successfully purchase the amulet from Andujar.

The party returns to Crius with news of their success. Crius tells them the conditions are not ideal, but will work. However, suspecting something is amiss, the party decides to survey the warehouse that night. In the middle of the night some of Andujar’s men come back jewelry an gold from unknown whereabouts. The following night, the heroes followed one of Andujar’s henchmen into the city. They discover the workers are in fact stealing from the citizens of the Hollow City. They seem to target jewelry in specific, but also steal gold and other valuables.

While attempting to set a trap for the thieves, Galad and Coro and ambushed in an alleyway by a couple halfling cutthroats and some minor henchmen. Meanwhile Hafekk and Theon charge the dragonborn guarding a chest of loot. After a lengthy skirmish the party defeats the robbers, chase down a fleeing halfling named Rabbit, secure the loot in a nearby inn, and interrogate Rabbit. He leads them back to Andujar’s and shows them a side entrance. The party uses this to Ambush Andujar’s nightwatch.

The fight goes rather well for the party, and Andujar is defeated after a severe thrashing from Hafekk. In his pocket they find an ancient note detailing a powerful artifact with clues to the location of it’s pieces. After returning to Crius the decision is made to make Rabbit the new leader of the warehouses due to his knowledge of the workings. However to keep an eye on him, Crius dispatches a trusted Argilian attache.

The party then sets off to the lumber mill to try and find the first piece of the artifact sword.

After 6 months of boot camp, our heroes (Coro a human bard, Hafekk the half-orc monk, and Theon the human rogue) are recruited by Captain Matteo of The Doomed Squad. Their first mission is a scouting mission into the Underdark. After navigating treacherous terrain, the party encounter enormous dire rats. Hafekk became infected by their disease, but was able to fight it off with the assistance of Refault’s healing.

Deeper in the cave the party encountered carved rooms feature Drow architecture. They happened upon some dark creepers attempting to repair some of the defenses that were left behind long ago, a pair of ballistae. After defeating the dark creepers the party turned the defenses on a pack of Drow waiting in ambush for them. After a harrowing fight in which Hafekk nearly died, the party continued upward into a wide hall.

The wide hall was ancient and damaged, and several times Coro had to regain his footing after a fall. However, the party never alerted the pack of giant bats waiting in the darkness above.

Beyond the high hall, the party discovered the tomb of Olanon Dawntracker, a deceased drow. After figuring out a puzzle they were rewarded with Olanon’s sword. Unfortunately they were also discovered by a duergar scouting party.

At first the fight went really well. Hafekk laid into the dark dwarves with a fury. Then Gulgar, the duergar giant came, laying low Captain Matteo. The party fled back to the surface with Gulgar in pursuit.

When the heroes returned to House Argil Refault, the only remaining veteran member of The Doomed Squad resigned, giving the banner to Coro.

The party is given a selection of choice missions by Crius, House Argil’s taskmaster. They choose to put down a rebellion in the Warehouse District.